Hubert Schmitz - Emeritus Fellow

Professor Hubert Schmitz is a development economist with 30 years of experience in research, teaching and advisory work. His areas of specialisation are sustainable industrialisation, the politics of investment and growth, and the green transformation.

He is Emeritus Fellow of the Institute of Development Studies and adviser to bilateral and multilateral development agencies on industrial policy, cooperation of public and private sectors, and interventions for strengthening competitiveness and job creation. He has published widely in development journals and is known for succinct synthesis of policy research. He has a long track record in managing international research teams and integrating competences across disciplines. His current research concentrates on the intersection of the global power shift and the low carbon transformation.

Two transformations are likely to dominate the first half of the twenty-first century. One is the shift in economic power from the West (North America and Western Europe) to the East (China and the East Asian production system). The second is the transition from a high to low carbon economy.

This project is concerned with the political economy analysis of climate change policies. The central question of the project is who drives/obstructs climate change policies in the rising powers, paying special attention to renewable energy policies.

At the heart of green industrial policy is rent management: government creating and withdrawing opportunities for highly profitable investment. This project asks what the key factors are for rent management to succeed.

Search and filter for all the author's publications by journal, research theme, country and much more.

Search and filter for all the author's publications by journal, research theme, country and much more.

In the 1970s and 1980s, industrial districts in Europe achieved international competitiveness and attained high employment standards, even though they were based on local small- and medium-sized firms and concentrated on traditional sectors. This makes them of special interest to less-developed countries in the South and East. This paper examines what policy lessons can be drawn from this European experience. More details

The main objective of this Special Section of Science and Public Policy is to examine whether, how and why low-carbon innovation paths differ between the leading countries in Europe and the rising powers in Asia. More details

The future of human life on our planet is influenced increasingly by what goes on in the rising powers. This report presents a political economy analysis of their policies, comparing China, India, Brazil and South Africa. More details

Accelerating sustainability is a challenge that defines our era and is a central theme of Institute of Development Studies research. This paper brings together what we can learn from development studies and from sustainability studies to understand this challenge and move forward. More details